May 2016
The work of the Taskforce has called substantially on a wide body of research and evaluation that is summarised in the appendices.
The Taskforce acknowledges that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are the Traditional Owners of the Great Barrier Reef area and
have a continuing connection to their land and sea country.
Prepared by: The Great Barrier Reef Water Science Taskforce, and the Office of the Great Barrier Reef, Department of Environment and Heritage Protection © State of Queensland, 2016.
The Queensland Government supports and encourages the dissemination and exchange of its information. The copyright in this publication is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia (CC BY) licence.
Under this licence you are free, without having to seek our permission, to use this publication in accordance with the licence terms. You must keep intact the copyright notice and attribute the State of Queensland as the source of the publication.
For more information on this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au/deed.en
Disclaimer
This document has been prepared with all due diligence and care, based on the best available information at the time of publication. The department holds no responsibility for any errors or omissions within this document. Any decisions made by other parties based on this document are solely the responsibility of those parties. Information contained in this document is from a number of sources and, as such, does not necessarily represent government or departmental policy.
Preface and Acknowledgements
The Great Barrier Reef Water Science Taskforce was established in May 2015 to provide advice to the Queensland Government on how to achieve
ambitious water quality targets and priorities for investing $90 million over five years.
The key objective for the Taskforce was to provide advice to the Queensland Government on how to help ensure that clean water flows from the rivers to
the sea to protect the Great Barrier Reef (the Reef) for future generations.
This Final Report describes:
Where are we now?
Where do we want to be?
How are we going to get there?
Firstly, we report on our key conclusions and recommendations.
The Report concludes with priorities for investment and a proposed implementation pathway.
We would like to acknowledge and thank the many people that have contributed to our process and the development of this Final Report,including:
Our Taskforce members
Our Peer Review Group members
All stakeholders and community members who have provided feedback and suggestions during the consultation process
The staff in the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection (particularly within the Office of the Great Barrier Reef), other Queensland
Government agencies and the Australian Government and Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, for their support, input and feedback.
The Great Barrier Reef is precious to all Queenslanders and we have been privileged to be able to provide advice on the steps that should be taken to
protect and conserve it for future generations.
There are some bold recommendations in this report that will require more innovative approaches and thinking. We encourage the Queensland
Government to keep pushing the boundaries for the benefit of the Great Barrier Reef.
Dr Geoff Garrett AO
Claire Andersen, Rachel D’Arcy, Ben Hammill, Jenny Riches
Principle Taskforce conclusions No. Taskforce recommendations The Reef water
quality targets are critical to building Reef health.
Targets: The water quality targets are ambitious and important.
Accelerating progress towards the targets is necessary.
1. 1. REVIEW TARGETS IN 2016, FEEDING INTO THE REVIEW OF THE REEF WATER QUALITY PROTECTION PLAN.
1.1. Review and refine the water quality targets, including targets for nutrients, sediment, pesticides, land management practice change and catchment health indicators.
1.2. Establish regional (and basin scale) targets for priority pollutants linked to Reef health.
A mix of tools are needed along the pathway to change
Communication, collaboration
and stakeholder engagement: Strong leadership and two-way communication are essential for improving water quality for the benefit of a healthy Reef.
2. 2. SUBSTANTIALLY IMPROVE COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION TO BUILD UNDERSTANDING OF THE PRESSURES ON THE REEF AND TO SUPPORT
MANAGEMENT PRACTICE AND SOCIAL CHANGE.
2.1. Develop a collaborative communication approach with stakeholders to ensure everyone in the community understands how they can be part of the solution and contribute to improving Reef health.
2.2. Establish consistent communication and messaging on Reef matters including across governments and with partners, with well-defined roles and responsibilities, including through a single website.
2.3. Undertake an annual science synthesis workshop to generate new knowledge, better communicate science and inform policy, management practices and research priorities.
Extension and education: Agricultural extension, particularly when aligned with other
mechanisms such as incentives, is fundamental for improved long-term land management.
3. 3. INVEST IN MORE EFFECTIVE, TARGETED AND COORDINATED EXTENSION TO SUPPORT LARGE SCALE LAND MANAGEMENT PRACTICE CHANGE.
3.1. Restore the long-term government commitment to both resource and rebuild capacity in extension services across the Reef.
3.2. Formalise extension networks and define leadership and roles and responsibilities across local delivery organisations (government, private and farmer-to-farmer), for a whole-of-farm business approach which incorporates Reef health outcomes.
3.3. Support ongoing training programs and career development for accredited extension advisers.
3.4. Make greater use of smarter and more innovative extension approaches including facilitated peer-to-peer learning, demonstration projects and new technologies (for example phone apps).
3.5. Partner with the agricultural industry to develop a large-scale behaviour change program (already underway with the cane industry) to encourage farmers to adopt specific actions, by better understanding their
motivations and the associated benefits. Incentives: In order to make the significant
changes needed to improve Reef health outcomes, incentives (for example grants) and market approaches (for example tenders) should be considered to
4. 4. ESTABLISH GREATER USE OF INCENTIVES AND MARKET APPROACHES TO SUPPORT WATER QUALITY IMPROVEMENTS.
4.1. Targeted use of market approaches such as tenders/reverse auctions (for example for purchasing nitrogen reduction) should be used where practical.
Great Barrier Reef Water Science Taskforce – Final Report May 2016 5
Principle Taskforce conclusions No. Taskforce recommendations
complement and integrate with regulation, extension and education.
practices and/or support land use change (for example incentives for practice change, acquiring areas, and stewardship payments for restoration).
4.3. Explore innovative approaches to support existing tools and manage risk (for example yield insurance, concessional farming loans).
4.4. Water quality trading approaches may be viable in some settings in the future but will require a staged pathway of regulation and detailed farm level information to support implementation.
Regulations: A staged regulatory pathway supported by extension, incentives, compliance, modelling and
monitoring is needed to meet Reef outcomes.
Regulations should apply to agricultural, urban and industrial activities within Reef catchments to meet minimum standards.
Regulation of both future development and the intensification of existing development is important to ensure continuous improvement in water quality.
Any regulatory regime needs to be clear, tailored to individual needs, easily measured and developed consultatively.
5. 5. IMPLEMENT STAGED REGULATIONS TO REDUCE WATER POLLUTION THROUGHOUT THE REEF REGIONS.
5.1. Set and progressively reduce catchment pollution load limits in legislation to provide a regulatory framework to help drive load reductions to meet water quality targets.
5.2. Incentives to continuously improve practices should be complemented by staged regulations that should:
improve existing minimum regulated standards (for example for urban, stormwater and point source) over time
establish minimum standards across all agricultural industries to address sediment and nutrient pollution
mandate the provision of farm level yield data, nutrient and other relevant data across all agricultural industries
consider progression to other approaches, including farm-based caps, if other stages are not successful within 5 years.
5.3. Minimum standards must be set in consultation with affected industries and have explicit regard to the cost and benefits of those standards. 5.4. Extend regulations to protect riparian areas and natural wetlands to all
Reef regions, taking into consideration any impact this may have on landholders’ ability to trade in ecosystem services.
5.5. Establish regulations to ensure no net decline in water quality from intensification and expansion in the agricultural sector.
5.6. Establish a water quality offset framework that can apply across industries (urban, ports, agriculture).
5.7. Seek continuous improvement in regulations and compliance capacity for point source pollution, stormwater, and erosion and sediment control in urban and industrial areas.
5.8. Improve management of irrigation to maximise water use efficiency and to minimise pollutant losses and associated impacts on water quality.
Principle Taskforce conclusions No. Taskforce recommendations Knowledge, science and
innovation: Improved alignment of research and innovation with the key challenges would enhance our ability to deliver substantial water quality improvements.
Achieving the targets will not be possible with the adoption of current best practices alone and will require innovative approaches.
6. 6. BETTER ALIGN SCIENCE AND FUND DEVELOPMENT OF NEW IDEAS AND SOLUTIONS.
6.1. Encourage the research community, governments and industry to work together to align current and future investment with the existing Reef Plan Research Development and Innovation Strategy.
6.2. Establish an Innovation Fund that builds on existing activities to support the development, scaling up and roll-out of promising new technologies and approaches.
6.3. Establish a Reef innovation network to drive boundary crossing
collaboration among stakeholders, researchers and innovators from diverse backgrounds to explore new solutions to improve Reef water quality. Monitoring, modelling,
evaluation and reporting: Current investment in monitoring and modelling is not enough to adequately measure Reef-wide water quality status and trends for both catchment and marine systems.
Monitoring is also essential for supporting communities and properly evaluating and reporting on outcomes of investment and optimising program delivery. Regular and clear reporting on progress is vital and should be part of the broader reporting for the Reef 2050 Plan and Reef Water Quality Protection Plan (for example through Reef Outlook reporting and annual Reef report cards).
7. 7. FUND ADDITIONAL LONG-TERM AND FINER-SCALE CATCHMENT MONITORING, MODELLING AND REPORTING FOR IMPROVED DECISION MAKING AND ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT.
7.1 Fund high priority catchment monitoring and evaluation gaps to enable better understanding of current adoption of management practices across the industries and progress to water quality targets.
7.2 As part of the proposed two major integrated projects, provide funding for finer-scale paddock and catchment monitoring, modelling and evaluation. This will provide timely feedback to farmers and support, encourage and embed improved practices. Explore more affordable monitoring technologies to expand this approach.
7.3 Ensure monitoring and modelling of land management and water quality feeds into regular, integrated reporting across the Queensland and Australian governments which can provide ‘what if’ scenarios to assist decision-making and adaptive management.
7.4 Continue co-funding Reef monitoring programs from the catchment to the Reef with the Australian Government to properly evaluate and report on outcomes of investment, and better align program delivery.
7.5 Ensure public availability of information and improve communication and visualisation of monitoring results.
Great Barrier Reef Water Science Taskforce – Final Report May 2016 7
Principle Taskforce conclusions No. Taskforce recommendations
Demonstration of all the
recommendations in high risk areas through integrated projects
Two major integrated projects: Major integrated projects are needed in a small number of hot spots that integrate and evaluate the combined effectiveness of a range of tools and innovative approaches. Once up-scaled they will deliver accelerated progress to the targets and inform ongoing investment across the Reef catchments.
8. 8. IMPLEMENT TWO, WELL FACILITATED MAJOR INTEGRATED PROJECTS (MIPS) IN POLLUTANT ‘HOT SPOT’ AREAS TO EVALUATE THE MOST EFFECTIVE COMBINATION OF TOOLS TO INFORM THE DESIGN OF FUTURE PROGRAMS.
8.1. One major project should engage with cane growers in the Wet Tropics (for example in the Tully, Johnstone and/or Herbert) to focus on reducing nutrient and pesticide loss.
8.2. The other major project should engage with graziers in the Burdekin (for example in the Bowen-Broken-Bogie and Upper Burdekin) to focus on reducing sediment and particulate nutrient run-off.
8.3. Local stakeholders and landholders must be actively involved in the design of the projects and the interventions being tested, which should be adapted over time as needed.
8.4. Use the opportunity to identify and trial mechanisms for reform in the governance arrangements for delivering water quality outcomes. 8.5. Monitoring and evaluation of the biophysical, social and economic
outcomes of the interventions, delivery mechanisms and governance arrangements must be a major component of the projects so that learnings can be transferred to different locations and scales. 8.6. Consider ongoing support to maintain and extend the successful
outcomes of the MIPS approaches and tools. Smart delivery and
sustained investment will be critical to success
Investment planning: Reaching the targets is likely to require funds well beyond those currently allocated by both governments.
Long-term continuity and strategic leveraging of government
investment, for example through public-private partnerships and innovative funding vehicles, will be required.
Clear regional investment planning will be necessary to maximise catchment and local scale investment alignment and implementation effectiveness.
9. 9. DEVELOP A STRATEGIC INVESTMENT PLAN AND ESTABLISH REEF-FRIENDLY PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS.
9.1. Develop a combined investment plan for the $90 million and the existing $35 million per year Queensland Government funding (that is, $230 million over the next four years).
9.2. Develop multi-year joint investment plans with the Australian Government to pool resources, agree delivery mechanisms and provide greater certainty of funding and clearly address shared policy issues and priorities.
9.3. Work with the Australian Government to transition the Reef Trust to an independent entity, better placed to attract private sector investment and philanthropic funding.
9.4. Develop plans to:
leverage corporate and philanthropic funds through public-private partnerships
support conservation financing mechanisms (for example reduced interest rates for best management practice accredited farmers, green bonds).
encourage and support innovative catchment scale on-ground delivery partnerships to leverage collaboration, skills and energy from private and community enterprises.
Principle Taskforce conclusions No. Taskforce recommendations Governance: Reef-wide, water quality
governance arrangements from policy to on-ground delivery are currently complex and poorly aligned. Improved alignment, simplification and coordination of effort across the system is needed to improve water quality
outcomes.
This is an essential element to get right, across the wide range of organisations involved in the Reef space.
Key issues that need to be resolved in order to improve governance include agreement on objectives, alignment of programs, clarity of roles and responsibilities, and accountabilities.
10. 10. SIMPLIFY AND STRENGTHEN GOVERNANCE AND CLARIFY ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES WITHIN AND BETWEEN THE QUEENSLAND AND AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS.
10.1. Implement a simplified and more effective governance structure across Queensland and Australian governments to deliver better joint
arrangements in funding and decision-making, and more efficient delivery arrangements and trial them through the major integrated projects.
10.2. Reach agreement on critical delivery systems operating within
catchments and undertake progressive reform to improve coordination between partners including local, Queensland and Australian
governments, regional NRM bodies, industry bodies, River Improvement Trusts, Drainage Boards and Traditional Owners to ensure more efficient and informed delivery.
10.3. Monitor and report on the effectiveness of the governance system affecting Reef water quality outcomes, resolving agreement on objectives, alignment of programs, clarity of roles and responsibilities and accountabilities.
10.4. Work across the Queensland Government to ensure the existing $35 million per year investment has a direct Reef water quality benefit to respond to the Queensland Audit Office recommendations.
Great Barrier Reef Water Science Taskforce – Final Report May 2016 9
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND ... 11
1. An overview of the Great Barrier Reef ... 11
2. The problem ... 12
3. Our task ... 18
4. Water Quality Targets ... 19
WHERE ARE WE NOW?... 23
5. Progress to date ... 23
6. Queensland Audit Office feedback... 25
7. Change needed ... 26
8. Stakeholder consultation and feedback ... 28
9. Funding ... 29
10. Coordination and governance ... 35
11. Key Barriers ... 37
12. Costings work ... 41
WHERE DO WE WANT TO BE? ... 42
13. A vision for the future ... 42
HOW ARE WE GOING TO GET THERE?... 43
14. A mix of tools ... 44
15. Recommendation 1 – Targets ... 49
16. Recommendation 2 – Communication, collaboration and stakeholder engagement... 50
17. Recommendation 3 – Extension and education ... 51
18. Recommendation 4 – Incentives ... 54
19. Recommendation 5 – Regulations ... 57
20. Recommendation 6 – Knowledge, science and innovation ... 63
21. Recommendation 7 – Monitoring, modelling, evaluation and reporting... 67
22. Recommendation 8 – Two major integrated projects ... 72
23. Recommendation 9 – Investment planning ... 74
24. Recommendation 10 – Governance ... 76
25. Summary of priorities for the $90 million ... 79
NEXT STEPS ... 81
26. Implementation of Taskforce Recommendations ... 81
Glossary of terms ... 85
Appendix A – Taskforce Membership ... 88
Appendix B – Review Group membership ... 89
Appendix C – Key References ... 90
Great Barrier Reef Water Science Taskforce – Final Report May 2016 11
INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
1. An overview of the Great Barrier Reef
Covering an area of 344, 000 square kilometres, the Great Barrier Reef (the Reef) is the world’s largest coral reef system, as large as Germany and larger than Great Britain, Malaysia or Italy, comprising approximately 3000 reefs and extending 2300 km along the Queensland coast.
The Reef was listed on the World Heritage Register in 1981 on the basis of its Outstanding Universal Value, particularly its “exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance”, and as an outstanding example “representing significant ongoing ecological and biological processes”. While the corals that build reefs are the most visible natural ‘value’ in
the Reef ecosystem, it is the Reef ecosystem as a whole (including seagrasses, mangroves, sandy and muddy communities, coastal wetlands, islands and continental slope depths) that is important. It is the broader ecosystem that was recognised in the World Heritage Area listing. The breathtaking array of marine creatures includes 600 types of soft and
hard corals, more than 100 species of jellyfish, 3000 varieties of molluscs, 500 species of worms, 1625 types of fish, 133 varieties of sharks and rays, and more than 30 species of whales and dolphins.
The Reef contains the greatest species diversity of any World Heritage Area on the planet, including:
o 56% of the world’s hard coral species
o 33% of the world’s soft coral and sea fan species o 6 of the world’s 7 species of marine turtles o 54% of the world’s mangrove diversity o 23% of the world’s seagrass diversity
o 13% of the world’s species of starfish, sea urchins and cucumbers o seabird breeding colonies on islands of world significance
o one of the world’s most important populations of dugongs.
Traditional owners have cared for the Reef for thousands of years and have a special connection with it.
The contribution of the Reef to the Queensland and Australian economy is estimated to be close to $6 billion a year, generating over 69,000 jobs across the tourism, recreation, commercial fishing, scientific research and management industries.
Agriculture is a dominant land use in the catchments adjacent to the Reef, employing over 35,000 people and contributing approximately $3.7 billion annually in gross value of production.
For decades the Reef has been regarded as the best managed coral reef in the world, as a result of many years of joint management by the Australian and Queensland governments and collaboration across a full range of stakeholders.
The Reef 2050 Long Term Sustainability Plan (Reef 2050 Plan) released by the Australian and Queensland governments in 2015 provides a 35 year blueprint for its management. Improving water quality is an important priority in that plan.
Further information: As part of the work of the Taskforce, a comprehensive ‘Current Situation Analysis’ was prepared, which provides further background information.
Great Barrier Reef Water Science Taskforce – Final Report May 2016 12
2. The problem
The Reef is facing a number of serious challenges.
Every five years, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority provides an assessment of the outlook for the Reef. The most recent Outlook Report (2014) concluded that: ‘Even with the recent management initiatives to reduce threats and improve resilience, the overall outlook for the Great Barrier is poor, has worsened since 2009 and is expected to further deteriorate in the future. Greater reductions of threats at all levels, Reef-wide, regional and local, are required to prevent the projected declines in the Reef and to improve its capacity to recover.’
The 2014 Great Barrier Reef Outlook Report stated the highest risks to the health and resilience of the Reef are:
1) climate change (that is, stronger storms, flooding, thermal stress) 2) land-based run-off (with the greatest impact on the in-shore areas) 3) coastal land-use change
4) aspects of direct use (such as fishing, shipping and port activities). The ecosystem and species making up the natural value of the Reef are
dynamic and go through cycles of disturbance and recovery. However, over the past decades there have been signs of significant declines in their condition.
Significant, widespread losses of seagrass have occurred in areas directly affected by cyclones and river floods; seagrass abundance south of
Cooktown has declined since 2009. Some recovery has been observed but appears to be patchy and site-dependent.
The Reef region supports globally significant populations of dugongs. The dugong population was one of the reasons the Reef was listed on the World Heritage Register. The dugong population south of Cooktown has drastically declined from 1962 levels.
From 1985 to 2012 coral cover on the mid-shelf and off shore reefs on the Reef declined by almost 50%. The main reasons for this decline have been identified as outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish, cyclones, and thermal stress leading to coral bleaching.
From 2012 to 2015 coral cover has shown some recovery on reefs south of Cooktown, but declined further north. Coral reefs in the GBR remain under pressure.
Crown-of-thorns starfish have caused widespread damage to parts of the Reef over the past five decades, due to population outbreaks which have occurred at regular intervals. Crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS) feed on corals
such as staghorns and plate corals. A current COTS outbreak is underway between Lizard Island and Cairns and is expected to move south over the next few years.
Great Barrier Reef Water Science Taskforce – Final Report May 2016 13
2016 coral bleaching event
In early 2016, the central to northern sections of the Reef experienced very significant coral bleaching, which was a consequence of stress due to higher than average water temperatures.
Further south, mid-shelf and outer reefs generally displayed minor to moderate bleaching. In past events (1998 and 2002), the central to southern areas experienced serious mass coral bleaching.
There is already significant mortality of corals across many severely bleached sites. However, the full ecological consequences of this mass bleaching event will not be known for some time.
See Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority website for further details and updates on the coral bleaching event: http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/media-room/coral-bleaching
Great Barrier Reef Water Science Taskforce – Final Report May 2016 14
Climate change and ecosystem resilience
Climate change is the single biggest threat to the Reef.
The climate change risks of most concern are ocean warming and acidification, and the increased intensity of storm events.
At the same time, changes to the drought-flood cycle due to climate change are likely to exacerbate the loss of sediments and nutrients from catchments that experience loss of vegetation (due to more extreme droughts) and greater scouring (due to more intense floods).
While efforts to reduce global climate change are underway, the focus must be on reducing all pressures to improve the Reef’s resilience. This will give the Reef a greater capacity to bounce back from climate
change related disturbances and survive well into the future. The Taskforce recognises that the Queensland Government will need to
consider how it can best meet international agreements around climate change. It is understood that Queensland is working on mitigation and adaptation strategies and that this will complement the work of the Taskforce.
Failure to deliver meaningful action on climate change could impact the effectiveness of investment in water quality improvement. Dual action on climate change and water quality improvement will be critical for the long-term health of the Reef.
The Taskforce recognises that to protect and maintain the health
of the Great Barrier Reef in the long term, two things should be
done:
1.
Reduce emissions
to keep average global surface temperature increases to below 2.0°C*, and hopefully 1.5°C over the long term. This means adopting a pathway to reduce greenhouse gas emissions over the next few decades consistent with international agreements to which Australia has committed to.2.
Build resilience
by reducing all other stressors as much as possible,including poor water quality, crown-of-thorns starfish and other direct impacts like fishing.
* Above the Pre-industrial Period (that is, from about 1750 as per IPCC 2014 and the Paris COP21 Agreement 2015).
Great Barrier Reef Water Science Taskforce – Final Report May 2016 15
Factors affecting the health of corals include:
Water temperature: Coral reefs are found in water that ranges from 18°C to 33°C. Generally, temperatures rising 1-2°C above the long-term summer maxima for 4-6 weeks will cause coral to bleach, with longer periods or higher temperatures leading increasingly to coral mortality.
Acidity: Increasing atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels is acidifying Reef waters, leading to a reduced ability by corals and other Reef organisms to produce their skeletons and shells. Being more brittle, storms may have greater impacts on corals which can lead to prolongedand cumulative damage to corals.
Increased nutrient levels in the water column: Corals generally do best in waters that have lower concentrations of inorganic nutrients. Increasing concentrations of nutrients can change the competition between seaweeds (macroalgae) and corals, such that seaweeds may dominate previously coral dominated reefs after disturbances such as bleaching, storms and crown-of-thorns starfish outbreaks. Increasing nutrients may stimulate phytoplankton concentrations in the water column, leading to increased survival rates of crown-of-thorns starfish larvae as these food sources become more abundant. Increased survival rates of young starfish can lead to serious outbreaks of the adult starfish that eat corals.
Sediment: Reduces the light available for seagrass and other organisms such as corals to
photosynthesise, and may lead to smothering of these and other organisms that are not used to environments dominated by these types of sediments.
Pesticides: Pesticides pose a risk particularly to coastal seagrass, wetland habitats and coral
growth.
Extreme weather events: Heavy rainfall, floods and tropical cyclones cause direct damage to
the Reef in addition to transporting catchment-sourced nutrients, pesticides and sediments to the Reef. More intense droughts and floods due to climate change have potential to increase run-off and scouring – leading to even greater decreases in water quality.
Role of coastal ecosystems and wetlands
Wetlands and coastal ecosystems provide connectivity to the Reef for many species and also filter catchment run-off.
Wetlands in Reef catchments provide a vital role in protecting shores from wave action and storms, reducing the impacts of floods, retaining sediment, absorbing pollutants and providing nurseries for fish and other freshwater and marine species.
Many wetlands and coastal ecosystems have been extensively modified or lost over the last 100 years and their restoration and rehabilitation in strategic locations is expected to contribute to water quality improvement, but by how much, is still somewhat unclear.
Wetlands and coastal ecosystems are valuable in their own right, providing habitat for important species.
Great Barrier Reef Water Science Taskforce – Final Report May 2016 16
The impact of catchment run-off on reef water quality
Agricultural land uses are the main source of nitrogen, sediment and pesticides to the Reef and its ecosystems.
Other land uses, such as industrial, mining, port development, dredging and urban development contribute relatively small loads of pollutants to the Reef but can be locally significant. These industries are generally more heavily regulated than agriculture.
One of the most manageable impacts on the Reef is human-induced run-off of pollutants in rivers flowing to the Reef.
The highest risk pollutants
Understanding of the highest risk pollutants to ecosystems in the Reef and the contributions from each land use has improved significantly.
The 2013 Scientific Consensus Statement on land use impacts on Reef water quality and ecosystem condition was prepared by an independent panel of 40 leading scientists. It identified the greatest water quality risks to the Reef to be from increased discharge of nutrients and fine sediments, while pesticides posed significant risk for coastal and freshwater ecosystems:
o Excess nutrients in the marine environment are linked to outbreaks of destructive coral eating crown-of-thorns starfish, excessive algal growth as well as increased susceptibility of corals to disease.
o Fine sediment discharges reduce light available to seagrass ecosystems and inshore coral reefs.
o Pesticides (specifically photosystem II {PSII} herbicides) inhibit primary production, seagrass and coral growth and at high concentrations, can lead to mortality.
Sources of nitrogen, pesticides and sediment
The dominant sources of nitrogen and pesticides are from agricultural fertiliser and pesticide use in intensive cropping, predominantly sugarcane farms, where large amounts of nitrogen fertiliser are used to maximise crop production.
Grazing lands contribute the most sediment (and associated particulate nutrients) delivered to the Reef. Efforts to reduce erosion and sediment run-off will also help in reducing particulate nutrient loads.
Great Barrier Reef Water Science Taskforce – Final Report May 2016 117
Priority Reef regions arising from poor water quality:
Our current understanding of the high risk pollutants and areas (based on information available from the Water Quality Relative Risk Assessment prepared in 2013 (Brodie et al. 2013)) is as follows (refer to Table 1):
The Wet Tropics and Burdekin regions are the priority for reducing nutrient run-off.
The Burdekin and Fitzroy regions are the priority for reducing sediment run-off.
The Lower Burdekin and Mackay Whitsunday regions are the priority regions for reducing pesticide run-off.
Within each region (see Figure 1), there are individual catchments that are high priorities for the different pollutants (for example Normanby and Mary Rivers for sediment run-off).
Table 1: Water quality relative risk assessment
Water Quality Risk Assessment
Highest risk
nutrient
areas
Wet Tropics
Burdekin
Highest risk
sediment
areas
Burdekin
Fitzroy
Highest risk
pesticide
areas
Lower Burdekin
Mackay Whitsunday
Figure 1: Map of the Great Barrier Reef and catchments, with NRM regions shown.
3. Our task
The Great Barrier Reef Water Science Taskforce was established in May 2015 to provide the Queensland Government with the best possible advice on how it can meet its ambitious long-term water quality targets. The Queensland Government has committed an additional $100 million over
five years to support priority actions across the Reef, $10 million of which was allocated to the establishment of three net-free fishing zones.
The Taskforce is making recommendations to the government on how to best invest the remaining $90 million for maximum water quality impact.
In providing advice on investment priorities for the $90 million, existing Queensland Government investment and future Australian Government investment have also been considered.
The purpose of this Report is to detail findings of the Taskforce in terms of identifying where we are now, where we want to be and how to get there. This has resulted in a range of conclusions and recommendations.
Development of the Report has included extensive consultation (see Section 8).
The key objective for the Taskforce is to provide
advice to the Queensland Government on how to help
ensure that clean water flows from the rivers to the
sea to protect the Reef for future generations.
Terms of Reference (Extract):
The Great Barrier Reef Water Science Taskforce will provide advice and recommendations to the Minister for Environment and Heritage Protection and Minister for National Parks and the Great Barrier Reef and the Queensland Government more broadly on:
the best approach to meeting the government's water quality targets, including the effectiveness and cost of robust regulations, incentives, Best Management Practice Programs, market-based trading mechanisms and other policy instruments, or a combination thereof.
priority areas for investment for the additional $100 million including: o upgrades to, and extension of the water quality monitoring network,scientific research where critical to support the recommended approach to meeting the targets, and/or facilitating the effective translation of current research into practice improvement
o promoting environmentally sustainable industry practices especially to support primary producers in Reef catchments to reduce fertiliser and sediment run-off (including consideration of a potential net benefit policy)
opportunities to align different sources of funding (for example from the Australian Government) and leverage Queensland Government investment effectively.
opportunities to maximise and align other sources of funding such as private/philanthropic and various science funds (for example the Advance Queensland Initiative and National Environmental Science Programme).
ensuring outcomes can be effectively monitored and reported over time, including providing advice on the adequacy of existing monitoring and reporting activities.4. Water Quality Targets
Reef Water Quality Protection Plan In 2003, the Reef Water Quality Protection Plan committed the
Queensland and Australian governments to halting and reversing the decline in water quality entering the Reef within 10 years. An additional goal was added in 2009, which was to ensure that by 2020 the quality of water entering the Reef from adjacent catchments has no detrimental impact on Reef health and resilience. This was refined in 2013 to ensure that by 2020 the quality of water entering the Reef from broad scale land use has no detrimental impact on the Reef health and resilience.
Pollutant load reduction targets for water quality improvement in the Reef have been used in the Reef Water Quality Protection Plan since 2009 to help guide water quality improvement programs. The evolution of water quality targets is shown in Table 2 below.
Since this plan was prepared, further scientific studies have recommended revised targets such as a 50-80% reduction in dissolved inorganic nitrogen in the Burdekin and Wet Tropics catchments may be required to meet the Great Barrier Reef Water Quality Guidelines (that identify the water quality thresholds that need to be met to ensure the health of coral and seagrass). Reef 2050 Plan
As a result, the Queensland Government committed to more ambitious targets, which were adopted in the Reef 2050 Plan. The Taskforce has been tasked with addressing these targets, which are:
o Reduce nitrogen run-off by up to 80% in key catchments such as the Wet Tropics and the Burdekin by 2025.
o Reduce total suspended sediment run-off by up to 50% in key catchments such as the Wet Tropics and the Burdekin by 2025. These targets have been informed by the best available science, (for
example Wooldridge et al. (2006) and Brodie et al. (2014)), but there are still knowledge gaps. Further work is required to determine basin-specific targets that ensure water quality on the Reef does not exceed ecological thresholds. The Reef 2050 Plan, with a wider focus than just water quality, is the
overarching framework for protecting and managing the Reef from 2015 to 2050. The Reef 2050 Plan was developed jointly by the Queensland and Australian governments and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority in close consultation with stakeholders.
The responsibility for implementation of the Reef 2050 Plan is shared between the Australian and Queensland governments.
Refinement of targets
A planned review of the Reef Water Quality Protection Plan targets in 2016 will be a timely opportunity to refine the targets and better define them at regional and basin scale. It will also ensure they are appropriately nested within and help deliver on the Reef 2050 Plan.
Experience from other regions such as Moreton Bay suggests that being able to clearly identify contributions to the total pollutant load from various sources is very useful in mobilising action. In South East Queensland, a simple nutrient and sediment budget (i.e. proportion of nutrient and sediment from different sources and how it moves through the system) was prepared to inform discussions with stakeholders. A similar approach could be taken in the Reef utilising the existing catchment modelling. Contributions to targets by different industries and regions could then be identified.
Great Barrier Reef Water Science Taskforce – Final Report May 2016 20
Great Barrier Reef Water Science Taskforce – Final Report May 2016 21
How the targets are derived
Water quality targets should be based on critical threshold levels for different water quality parameters to ensure that the marine ecosystem is adequately protected.
There are a range of policies in place that help set the relevant water quality thresholds from the national level to the local level including the Australian and New Zealand Guidelines for Fresh and Marine Water Quality 2000, the Water Quality Guidelines for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park 2010 and the Queensland Environment Protection (Water) Policy (2009).
Under these policies, water quality objectives are identified for different waterways and long-term goals are established for water quality that will help protect and maintain the freshwater and marine ecosystem.
A water quality guideline is a numerical limit or descriptive statement that defines desirable conditions to support or maintain designated environmental
values. Water quality objectives take this a step further. They are the specific water quality targets agreed between stakeholders, or set by local
jurisdictions, that become the indicators of management performance (Australian and New Zealand Guidelines for Fresh and Marine Water Quality 2000).
Water quality objectives are based on local, regional or national water quality guidelines depending on information available – the more locally relevant the better.
Empirical studies and, catchment and marine modelling are then needed to estimate the end of river loads needed to achieve those water quality
objectives (Figure 2). This also takes into consideration the impact of climate variability and flood cycles.
Great Barrier Reef Water Science Taskforce – Final Report May 2016 22
eReefs
Due to the long-term nature of ecosystem responses, monitoring information alone does not give timely feedback on the effectiveness of management changes and improvements. It is also clouded by normal climate variation and natural complexity.
Marine water quality modelling assesses how the marine environment responds to changes in end-of-catchment loads and helps evaluate if progress toward catchment targets is producing the expected outcomes for the Reef.
The eReefs project will provide marine water quality modelling tools to cover the catchment to Reef continuum, helping to predict how water and pollutants move and affect the Reef. It will support near real-time water quality information in a manner similar to how meteorological modelling is used to help predict the weather.
The project is developing the capability and tools to undertake integrated modelling, and improve the type and delivery of water quality information to end-users. The project commenced in 2012 and is now in phase 2. Early scenario results from the modelling are expected in 2016.
The project is managed by the Great Barrier Reef Foundation with work undertaken by CSIRO, the Australian Institute of Marine Science, the Bureau of Meteorology and the Queensland Department of Science, Information Technology and Innovation.
The project is partly funded out of the $90 million funding allocation for water quality from the Queensland Government. The $2 million allocation builds on a $12 million investment from the Queensland and Australian governments and the private sector in the eReefs project, as well as historical investments by the Queensland Government. The review of the water quality targets in 2016 will incorporate new information and modelling from the eReefs project.
Currently, funding for eReefs is terminating in 2017. Continuity of funding and maintaining the skills and capabilities that have been built will be important.
Source: eReefs: Modelled salinity concentrations.
WHERE ARE WE NOW?
5. Progress to date
Progress has been made to improve water quality in Reef catchments. Some considerable changes have been made across many sectors
(including local government, urban development, agriculture, tourism, resources and ports), and there is a strong commitment in these industries to improving sustainability not only to ensure the prosperity of these sectors and industries into the future, but also to protect the Reef.
However, the resulting changes have not been rapid or widespread enough to improve or even maintain water quality on the Reef.
Great Barrier Reef Report Card 2014 (released 2015)
The Reef Report Card reports on progress towards targets in the Reef Water Quality Protection Plan 2013. This includes targets for:
o land management practices for the main agricultural industries o catchment pollutant loads
o catchment indicators - ground cover, wetlands and riparian extent. The Reef Report Card shows modelled long term average loads of five
different pollutants (dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN); particulate nitrogen (PN), particulate phosphorus (PP), sediment and pesticides).
As shown by the Reef Report Card, modelled long term average loads of dissolved inorganic nitrogen have reduced by 17% and sediment by 12% compared to a 2009 baseline (Figure 3).
Despite significant investment and goodwill from all parties, and improvements in some areas of marine condition, not enough has been achieved to prevent the further decline of the Reef.
An accelerated uptake of improved practices is urgently needed to spur progress towards the targets.
The target for adoption of best practice land management is 90% of the land area by 2018 (Figure 4). The Reef Report Card 2014 shows the area of land managed under best management practice systems for each industry across the Reef was:
o sugarcane - approximately 13% for nutrients, 30% for pesticides and 23% for soil
o grazing erosion - approximately 28% for pastures, 47% for stream banks and 24% for gullies.
• While the measured progress towards water quality targets in many areas is still not fast enough or sufficient, considerable investment provides a strong foundation for further improvements.
• Further details on the Reef Report Card 2014 can be found at: http://www.reefplan.qld.gov.au/measuring-success/report-cards/2014/
Figure 3: Reef Report Card 2014: Catchment load results: results are an estimate of the annual average reduction in human-caused (anthropogenic) pollutant loads at the end of catchments.
Red = very poor; Orange = poor; Yellow = moderate; Light green = good; Dark green = very good. (see
Figure 4: Reef Report Card 2014 management practices results for Sugarcane, Grazing and Horticulture.
Red = very poor; Orange = poor; Yellow = moderate; Light green = good; Dark green = very good.
Farmers on around 50% of the cane land area and graziers on 10% of the grazing land area within Reef catchments have participated in the industry Best Management Practice (BMP) process. However, less than 5% of both cane farmers and graziers have so far been formally BMP accredited (refer to Table 3).
There are approximately 3800 sugarcane growers managing 4032 square kilometres of land across the Reef catchment (Report Card 2014).
There are approximately 8500 graziers managing 322,891 square kilometres of land across the Reef catchment (Report Card 2014).
Farmers across approximately 50% of cane land area (around one third of farmers) have participated in the voluntary, industry-led Smartcane BMP program (commenced in 2013). Participants assess their practices against industry standards and identify opportunities for improvement not just in water quality but also in other topics like farm business management and workplace health and safety.
While the number of growers participating is substantial since the program commenced in 2013 with 1287 cane growers participating, as of mid-April 2016, 86 are accredited. Updates on accreditation figures are available at: https://www.smartcane.com.au/LatestNews/LatestNews.aspx.
Similarly, for the Grazing BMP (commenced in 2013), as of mid-April, 1371 have participated, with only 27 farms accredited. However, in 2015-16 alone almost 32,000 square kilometres were added by Grazing BMP participants (around 10% of the area within GBR catchments under grazing).
There have been some real achievements in improved practices that make up best management practice. For example, green trash blanketing has now become the norm in all regions except the Burdekin, helping to reduce sediment run-off from participating cane farms.
Despite some levels of practice change, adoption of the highest priority practices, such as those related to nitrogen application rates, has been slow. The Reef Report Card 2014 concluded that accelerated improvements in
land management will be needed to increase progress towards the Reef Water Quality Protection Plan targets.
Programs like Reef Rescue, which ran from 2009 to 2013 (and continued afterwards as the ‘Reef Programme’), provided support for land management improvement and leveraged significant private investment from farmers and graziers. While regarded as highly successful by many stakeholders, the changes have not come fast enough and are not sufficiently widespread to make a significant difference to end of catchment pollutant loads. Table 3: Rates of BMP adoption in Great Barrier Reef catchments (as at April 2016)
Rates of Adoption of
BMP
Cane
Grazing
Total number of
farmers and graziers
3777
8545
Number of farmers
who have
participated in BMP
1287
(34%) 1371
(16%)
Area of land covered
by BMP
Approximately 50%
Approximately 10%
Number of farmers
who are BMP
accredited
6. Queensland Audit Office feedback
In 2015 the Queensland Audit Office undertook an audit of Reef water quality programs and found:
o while there was the Reef Water Quality Protection Plan, there was no cohesive State-based Reef program to support its achievement
o Queensland's response had lacked urgency and purpose, characterised by disparate projects with no central authority and no clear
accountability for their delivery or for achievement
o results indicated that the right balance had not been achieved between industry led, voluntary approaches and regulatory enforcement
o the fragmented program response was mirrored by fragmented governance arrangements. One consequence of this was that there was no strong accountability for program expenditures.
The Queensland Government has not yet formally responded to the audit.
In reaction to the audit, the Queensland Government, through the Minister for the Great Barrier Reef, announced in May 2015:
o that the functions of the Reef Secretariat would be expanded and transferred from the Department of the Premier and Cabinet into the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection as an Office of the Great Barrier Reef to coordinate, monitor and assist in delivering the State's contribution to the Reef Water Quality Protection Plan and the Reef 2050 Plan
o the establishment of the Taskforce and an interdepartmental committee. The Queensland Audit Office noted that, in principle, if implemented
effectively, these changes should address the governance issues identified. The findings of the Queensland Audit Office along with the Queensland
Government’s actions have been considered by the Taskforce in their deliberations.
Many of the recommendations in this report complement the Queensland Audit Office conclusions and will help address their recommendations to the Queensland Government.
7. Change needed
The Taskforce considered the 2025 water quality targets aspirational in the prescribed timeframe and available resources.
Transformational change is needed over the next 5-10 years if the targets have any chance of being achieved.
Transformational change for Reef water quality outcomes will occur when there is a fundamental shift in the way the land is managed. For example, alternative crops, calculating fertiliser based on zonal or ‘management unit yield potential’, better fertilisers that improve nitrogen use efficiency and repurposing or land use conversion of some areas.
The challenge is to lead and manage a much needed and significant practice and management change program across such a vast scale. A program of this scale is likely to require significantly more investment than currently available. Leadership, clearly defined accountabilities and adequate resourcing are key.
The scale of landscape alteration has exacerbated the problem, and it is questionable whether there is adequate protection of landscapes (for example, riparian and wetland areas) from future loss.
Figure 5 shows progress to date, the poor outcome of continued business-as-usual as per current investment, and an indicative steep trajectory that will be needed to meet water quality targets.
Like any major change program, care must be taken to ensure that changes are locked in for the long term to avoid having to invest multiple times to achieve the same gains.
Great Barrier Reef Water Science Taskforce – Final Report May 2016 28
8. Stakeholder consultation and feedback
Taskforce – general consultation
In developing both the Interim Report and this Final Report, the Taskforce has sought to understand the breadth of issues that concern the community and stakeholders across the Reef with respect to water quality.
Taskforce members engaged with multiple stakeholders to gather their views on what has worked well and what hasn’t in recent years, about potential investment priorities and the best ways to meet the targets. Initial points of feedback included:
o Stakeholders involved in the Reef want to be engaged and recognised for their efforts.
o There is a need for a clear narrative about the water quality linkages from the paddock - to the river – and to the Reef.
o The need to pursue the most effective interventions for nutrient and sediment reduction considering the cost, likelihood of achievement and the ecological and potential economic benefits.
o The need for improved monitoring and evaluation to better measure outcomes and communicate these to landholders and the community. o The currently complex and fragmented governance system needs to be
greatly simplified to improve accountability and delivery of outcomes. o Land managers have different priorities, so a range of methods must be
used to accelerate effective changes to land management practices based on different costs and benefits.
Interim Report – consultation process
The Taskforce released its Interim Report for public consultation in December 2015. The Interim Report set out the initial recommendations to the Queensland Government on how to deliver substantial Reef water quality improvements.
Consultation was undertaken on the Interim Report to seek the views of key stakeholders and interested members of the public regarding the development of the final recommendations.
The Interim Report was made available on the Queensland Government Great Barrier Reef Living Wonder website (www.gbr.qld.gov.au/).
Respondents were invited to make a submission via an online survey which was linked on the website, or to submit more detailed comments via email.
A total of 103 public consultation submissions were received, with responses from individuals (67) and organisations (36), both within and outside of the Reef catchment areas.Interim Report - feedback
The Interim Report was well supported in principle by the majority of respondents, both through survey responses and written comments. Additionally, the Interim Report’s approach of collaborative problem-solving and endorsing the use of a combination of management tools wasoverwhelmingly supported by respondents.
The recommendations listed in the Interim Report were largely supported, with over 75% of total survey respondents in agreement with the 10 recommendations.
Survey respondents were asked to nominate their top three priorities for investment of $90 million over four years. The most supported areas identified for investment were:o monitoring, modelling and reporting
o more effective, targeted and coordinated extension o incentive and market approaches
o staged introduction of outcomes-based regulation
Whilst the two major integrated projects received the lowest support as an investment priority, over 60% of survey respondents agreed with the recommendation to implement these integrated projects.Further information: The Taskforce Consultation Report is available on the Queensland Government Great Barrier Reef website at
Great Barrier Reef Water Science Taskforce – Final Report May 2016 29
9. Funding
Queensland and Australian government investment
History of funding
There has been considerable investment relating to Reef water quality since the launch of the first Reef Water Quality Protection Plan in 2003.
In 2009, investment was significantly increased, with the Australian Government committing $200 million over five years and the Queensland Government committing $175 million over five years.
In 2013, both governments committed to continuing that investment over the following five years. This included Queensland Government continuing its $35 million annual investment in water quality programs, which is allocated across a range of Departments and programs. Some of these programs are due to expire in coming years.
In 2014, the Australian Government announced $140 million to Reef Trust, on top of its existing commitment of $160 million over five years for the Reef Programme. Of this, $69.1 million has been allocated already to water quality since 2014 (pers comms, R Parry). Allocations of future funding from Reef Trust are subject to scientific advice and decisions of government (which may include activities broader than water quality).
In 2015, the Queensland Government announced an additional $100 million ($10 million of which has supported a net fishing buyout and $90million to water quality programs). Table 4 summarises these major funding
announcements by both governments. Funding for broader Reef 2050 implementation
The Reef 2050 Plan was released in 2015 and is the Australian and Queensland governments’ 30 year blueprint for managing the Great Barrier Reef. This includes actions around water quality, biodiversity, ecosystem health and heritage.
A Reef 2050 Investment Baseline was completed in 2015, which estimated current levels of funding allocated to Reef management (eg marine park management, biodiversity protection etc). The total reef investment for 2014/15 from the Australian and Queensland governments was estimated to be $215 million in the Reef 2050 Investment Baseline. Projections on future funding in the Investment Baseline estimated that $2 billion would be invested in reef management over the next decade.
Latest commitments
The Australian Government recently announced an additional $171 million towards Reef 2050 and Reef Trust from 2016-17. The priority areas for investment for this have not yet been identified and will be done in
consultation with independent experts. These priorities will be broader than just water quality (eg biodiversity, Reef 2050 action implementation). Table 5 shows a summary breakdown of Australian and Queensland
government funding. It also displays the funds allocated to Reef water quality work by research institutions, universities and not-for-profit organisations since 2013-14. More comprehensive figures covering all aspects of Reef management are provided for 2014-15 as presented in the Reef 2050 Investment Baseline.
These figures do not capture cash or in-kind investment by the private sector, community groups or volunteers.
Table 4: Major Reef funding commitments by Australian and Queensland governments (note: colours coincide with Table 5)
2009-2013 2014-2018 Announcements post 2014 Queensland major
funding commitments $175M $175M (over five years+$100M )
Australian Government major funding
commitments
$200M $300M
(over six years to 2019)
+$171M (over 6 years, noting not all will be towards water quality)
Great Barrier Reef Water Science Taskforce – Final Report May 2016 30
Local government investment
Local governments in the Great Barrier Reef catchment play an important role in protecting the Reef, with their efforts acknowledged through the Reef Guardian Council program. Significant efforts by local government have been expended over many years in reducing and preventing pollution, particularly from point sources, from damaging the Reef.
The local governments in the Reef catchments make large investments in activities that affect Reef health including on-ground activities, urban water quality and point source pollution management, such as upgrades to sewage treatment plants and water treatment plants. Some of these upgrades were co-funded with the Queensland Government. With thirty-six major sewage treatment plants in the Reef catchment, upgrades of plants and the resulting improvements in quality of discharges have had a significant local impact. The Reef 2050 Investment Baseline found that in 2014-15, 15 of the 27
councils had collectively invested up to $228.9 million in activities relevant to Reef health, including improved water quality. As well as upgrades to their sewage and water treatment infrastructure, work included rehabilitating waterways and coastal areas, managing vegetation and pests, sustainable agriculture initiatives and local community education.
While not all these activities were undertaken with improved water quality as a primary goal, the final outcomes have been very positive.
Ongoing investment and commitment by local governments will be critical to delivering a healthy Reef.
Investment from other parties
There is also considerable cash and in-kind investment made in Reef water quality initiatives by individual landholders (including mills), NRM body staff, volunteers, the resources sector, universities and research institutions. For example, under the first Reef Rescue program, up to $1.80 was invested by landholders for every $1 provided by the Australian Government (totalling $157 million of industry investment over five years).
Research institutions also contribute significant funds of their own (on top of Australian Government funding) to reef water quality research (see Table 5). The challenges facing innovative financing mechanisms mean these have not
been particularly explored to date (for example green bonds, concessional loans and reduced council rates for best practice).
Recipients of funding for Reef water quality improvement
As has been previously indicated, the funding environment (both allocation and spending) is complex and fragmented. It has been difficult to quantitatively define, in detail, all sources and recipients of funds when it comes to specific water quality improvements for the Great Barrier Reef. Table 5 provides the best available analysis at this time.
Further work is needed, for example by skilled auditing personnel, to properly understand the respective ins and outs of respective Queensland and
Australian governments funding in regard to prevailing Reef water quality activities.
Illustratively, considering the financial year 2014-15 as an example, (see Table 5):
o Of the $35 million spent by the Queensland Government, approximately $6.6 million was spent with the regional NRM bodies and a further $2.5 million with the regional report card partnerships. $4.6 million was also spent with industry groups and research partners. The remainder was used to fund various departmental-led programs.
o Of the funding by the Australian Government for water quality related programs, approximately $23.2 million was allocated to the Regional NRM bodies, $13.4 million to GBRMPA, $1.8 million to the Reef and Rainforest Research Centre, $3.1 million with the GBR Foundation and $1.1 million to the Regional Report Card Partnerships. $6.3 million was co-invested with the Queensland Government on various initiatives including water quality monitoring.
Investment planning
An investment baseline developed in 2015 for the Reef 2050 Plan identifies the range of other investments made to support broader Reef management. While the Reef Water Quality Protection Plan Investment Strategy outlines
the range of water quality investments by different funders, in practice many of the funding decisions were already made prior to the strategy being developed (so are not directly aligned to its objectives). It is also not updated regularly enough to influence decision-makers on investment priorities. As mentioned above, the various funding programs currently appear
fragmented, with limited detailed supporting documentation to show how different programs contribute to achieving the water quality targets.
Additionally, it is unclear how different funding programs mesh together – for example, who funds what in the research and development space, and who provides funding for which region. In many cases, it is up to the NRM bodies to identify different funding sources and tailor projects to those, based on their Water Quality Improvement Plans.
Great Barrier Reef Water Science Taskforce – Final Report May 2016 31 Clearer identification of the linkages between initiatives/programs and
activities needed to achieve the targets, the outcomes that they are expected to achieve, the priority areas for investment and better communication between funders will provide more rapid progress towards meeting the targets with existing and new investment.
Future investment needed
Investment needed to achieve the targets in the timescale proposed is likely to be well beyond the funds currently allocated by the Queensland and Australia governments.
Additional investment will be critical and leveraging the Queensland Government funding should be a priority, including through public-private partnerships, philanthropy and innovative funding vehicles. There are many other government programs that contribute to Reef outcomes.
There is a lack of integration of these potential investments towards Reef outcomes.
